Japan Bank Affirms Sufficient Funds for Vietnam Projects amid Crisis

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide enough capital for pledged projects in Vietnam despite effects of the earthquake and tsunami, Senior Executive Director Fumio Hoshi said. Hoshi made the commitment at a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Finance in the Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi on April 21. JBIC is willing to finance the projects in Vietnam, especially in projects which will be carried out under public-private-partnership (PPP), he noted, urging that Vietnam should select prioritized projects to boost disbursement. In the recent years, JBIC has provided loans for many development projects in Vietnam including Nghi Son thermal power plant, Phu My plant 2, Phu My plant 3 and Vinaconex cement plant. There is no immediate detail on how Japan will cut its aid to Vietnam. Earlier, Japanese Ambassador in Vietnam Yasyaki Tanizaki said he has not yet heard about any adjustment ODA for the country. Japan is Vietnam’s bilateral largest provider of official development assistance (ODA), with a total disbursement of over $1.6 billion in 2010. It pledged $1.76 billion out of $7.9 billion ODA provided by international donors for Vietnam this year. (Thoi bao Kinh te – Vietnam Economic Times Apr 22 p3)